Windows 2008 R2 Archives - MARKSWINKELS.NL

How to: Save your DPI settings in Windows 2008 R2 with mandatory profiles using RES Workspace Manager 2012

In Windows 2008 R2, users have the ability to change their DPI settings. When users change their DPI settings, they have to logoff and login again before the new settings are live. But….what if you’re using mandatory profiles. When the users logs off, the profile is unloaded and the settings are also gone!! The users are logging in again, and the new and “clean” mandatory profile is loaded, whitout the DPI settings!

When you’re using RES Workspace Manager, you can save the DPI settings when the users logoff and load the settings when the users login, also when you’re using mandatory profile! By default there are three options to choose:

1.) Smaller – 100% = 96 DPI (Pixels/Dots Per Inch)
2.) Medium – 125% = 120 DPI (Pixels/Dots Per Inch)
3.) Larger – 150% = 144 DPI (Pixels/Dots Per Inch)

Use the following steps to save the DPI settings for your users.

1.) Create a new global Zero Profling setting within RES Workspace Manager
2.) Save a registry value HKEY_Current_User\Control Panel\Desktop\LogPixels
3.) Login with a mandatory profile and change your DPI settings
4.) Logoff your session (now your DPI settings are saved using RES Zero Proling)
5.) Login again with a mandatory profile and look for your DPI settings

Remove duplicate personal folders within Windows 2008 R2 when using folder redirection

When you are using folder redirection within Windows Server 2008 R2 to redirect some personal folders, you will see some duplicate folders when you are opening the Windows Explorer. One is the redirected folder to your network, the other is the orrigional folder. When opening the origioal folder, you will receive an error. The redirected folder works fine.

To resolve this duplicate folder issue, you have to add a registry key to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER environment. I have used RES Workspace Manager 2012 to deploy this registry key, but you can also use a loginscript or other third party software.

1.) Open the RES Workspace Manager 2012 Management Console
2.) Navigate to User Registry
3.) Create a New Registry, in my example “OS – Remove duplicate user personal folder”
4.) Add the following registry key
HEKY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
5.) Create a REG_DWORD
{DFFACDC5-679F-4156-8947-C5C76BC0B67F}
6.) The REG_DWORD value should be 1 (0x00000001)
7.) Distribute this to all the users or just to a group of users

After login again, you will see that the duplicate folders are gone! This is much better for the user now.

How to: Remove the personal folder from the dekstop within Windows Server 2008 R2

Default within Windows Server 2008 R2 there’s a shortcut available on your desktop to the users personal folder. When you’re using a mandatory profile with folder redirection, the links to the personal folders are wrong and the users are getting an error message!

In this blogpost I’m using RES Workspace Manager 2012 to solve this problem. You can also use an script that changes the specific registry key.

1. ) Open the RES Workspace Manager 2012 Console
2.) Navigate to Composition / Actions By Type / User Registry
3.) Create a new Registry setting and import the right registry key.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum]
“{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}”=dword:00000001
4.) Now logoff the user and login again. As you can see, the shortcut to the personal folder has gone.

How to: Change the current Schema Master in Windows 2008 R2

Today I had to perform an Active Directory upgrade. I installed some new Windows 2008 R2 domain controllers. After a succesfull installation, I wanted to transfer the FSMO roles to the new domain controller(s). Four of the five went well, but how to transfer the Schema Master…?? There was no MMC snap-in available! This is the trick…

1.) Open a command prompt
2.) Type the command: regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll
3.) Open the Microsoft Management Console (mmc)
4.) Add the following snap-in: Active Directory Schema
5.) Right-click on the snap-in and select Change Active Directory Domain Controller
6.) Select one of the new installed domain controllers
7.) Right-click again and slect Operations Master
8.) Hit Change and select OK
9.) The Schema Master role is now transfered to the domain controller
10.) Check all the FSMO roles with the following command netdom /query FSMO

How to: List all enabled features using the command prompt in 2008 R2 Core

When you’re using Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Core Edition, you only have an command prompt available within a console session. For some sysadmins it’s a no go. When you know what tools are available by default whitin the command prompt, it’s no big deal to manage some basic things through the command prompt.

For example, when you want to view all the available features in the Core Version, you can use the command:
dism /online /get-features /format:Table
dism /online /get-features /format:List